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Leveraging Relationships as a Strategy to Develop Your Business

It’s not about just getting something from the other person, it’s also about mutually helping each other. Both parties must be winners at the end of it and this is how you build a good base to an ongoing successful business relationship.

Collaborate or Stagnate

Whether you want to work with a charity, a trade association, a community group or other businesses, one secret to deliver your message is networking through collaborations.

You can use collaboration to:

• Leverage your time and money
• Share resources
• Earn passive income
• Cross promote activities
• Gain major visibility
• Break into a new market
• Establish your identity quickly
• Expand your product/service offerings

How Tos

1. Value and Resources — Value is often measured by a desired outcome. You also need to understand the difference between owning and using a resource. With strong relationships, you can gain access to the resources you need, even if just for a specific project.

   • Cultivate purposeful relationships with a true exchange of value.

   • Strong relationships are necessary to access resources you can’t purchase.

   • Building relationships is about exchanging your own value for the tools you need to serve a customer.

2. Choosing the Right Target — If you need web developers, you will not approach a stock broker. Sometimes you might need to leverage relationships with multiple parties to achieve one goal, so planning your way through is important.
   

   • Approach those people who have the things you need, but be ready for a fair exchange.

   • Soft relationships skills can help you do more with less by filling the needs of those who can advance your objective.

3. Cross promotion -Focus on solutions to your target market’s pain or desires and go win win.

• Use tools like raffles, email blasts, affiliate commissions to promote each other

• Use cobranding strategy if you are entering a new market. Find yourself an established partner who will instantly give you credibility and reduce market penetration overheads.
• Build up the name of the business your are promoting at your best, you will get it back in a way or the other.
  

Bookmark my Post

Asking for vote requests and bookmarking too often might be detrimental to you in many ways, people might even unfollow you if you don’t pay attention. Again it boils down to the frequency that you do it and also what type of information you are providing. It is always a good thing to entertain your followers by giving away different types of interesting information rather than just posting your latest blog post on twitter. Also, make sure you don’t give too much information about your personal life to your business followers, they might not want to know what you wearing or how you enjoyed sex last night. It might be an idea to use two profiles for two selected audiences if you wish to do that. I got a least 30 hits from that. Following the right people is also something to keep in mind, I do get some spammers with sexy pictures who have tinurls in their tweets that I just ignore, it is a matter of quality and not quantity.

Slow Twitterers

If you just signed up to Twitter account and got a few hundreds of followers, make sure that you put something interesting up there that gives some value at least twice a week. Just saying hey I have a new blog post up there once a week might not necessarily help. It took me at least a month go to start putting updates at least 10 times a day, but yet again I am trying to focus on quality rather than quantity. Think Think Think, be logical and see from your follower’s perspective, are you harassing or boring them?

By Outsourcing, You Can;

1. Control operating costs
2. Improve efficiencies through economies of scale
3. Improve speed and service
4. Level out cyclical or seasonal fluctuations
5. Eliminate peak staffing problems
6. Provide the best quality services, products and people
7. Be reliable and innovative
8. Provide value-added services
9. Increase customer satisfaction
10. Establish long-term, strategic relationships with world-class service providers to gain a competitive edge
11. Enhance tactical and strategic advantages
12. Focus on strategic thinking, process re engineering and managing trading partner relationships
13. Benefit from the provider’s expertise in solving problems for a variety of clients with similar requirements.
14. Obtain needed project management and implementation consulting expertise
15. Acquire access to best practices and proven methodologies
16. Spread your risks
17. Avoid the cost of chasing technology
18. Leverage the provider’s extensive investments in technology, methodologies and people
19. Reduce the risk of technological obsolescence
20. Increase efficiency by consolidating and centralizing functions
21. Keep pace and minimize the impact of rapid changes in technology without changing your infrastructure
22. Reduce the overall management burden while retaining control of strategic decision making.
22. Reduce overheads, free up resources
23. Minimize capital expenditure
24. Eliminate investment in fixed infrastructure
25. Offload non-core functions
26. Redirect energy and personnel into the core business
27. Free your executive team from day-to-day process problems
28. Focus scarce resources on mission-critical projects
29. Get access to specialized skills
30. Reduce need for internal commitment of specialists
31. Save on manpower and training costs
32. Have access to a larger pool of talents
33. Avoid paying Employee Tax
34. Get more out of the man hours you pay for
35. Leverage world class Technology and Resources at very low costs.
36. Build a Virtual Team and have a global delivery model
37. Get more for your money, i.e have a higher Return On Investment

Would appreciate your questions and comments so that we can build up on this.
Many Thanks
+| Rajeev |+

Don’t Spam
It might a good idea grabbing two Twitter accounts in order to avoid spamming and separating your and your blog posts. E.g you might want to have an account where with @yourblogname which you subscribe to all sorts of internet marketing feeds and also use this to put up your daily blog posts. Then have @yourusername Twitter account for your daily twitters where you occasionally give heads up when putting up your best posts. The key thing is to avoid using your account to just put up your blog post links or marketing stuff, it should be a small percentage of the amount of Twitters you put a day

Is there a limit

You may have sensed that you cannot always get away twittering your latest blog post. And it depends a lot on how often you Twitter. Say you Twitter 30 times daily, it wouldn’t harm one or two links to a blog entry a day but if you only twitter a few times a week and it always seems to be a blog entry, I will definitely get tired of them pretty quickly. A good ratio of about 10-15 non marketing twitters for every 1 marketing you and a cap of 1 per day might be a good approach. If ever you worried you aren’t twittering enough to make your feed seem less spammy? Just make sure you reply to some people you follow, which also has the added bonus that when they reply, other people might see it and follow you too.

Get a killer Headline

If you are thinking about posting a link to your blog entry on Twitter, then at least make an effort to get a killer headline that works within the character limit of 140 words. This is one of the unfortunate problems with Twitterfeed, a program that will automatically send blog entries to your, surprise surprise, Twitter feed. First, don’t repeat your blog name, especially if your headlines tend to get cut off at the end and especially if your blog name is a lengthy one. When it comes on my Twitter feed, I see who has posted it, so cut out the repeating of the blog name and give me a better headline. And if you use a tinyurl.com link, it will free up space for more characters in your headline.

Would be happy to hear your comments.

Anyone and Everyone who wants to make best of their time. ( Time Management for the jargon Freaks )

You will surely agree that Time Management is one of the most Essential aspects for anyone/any business to succeed. Having said that, it is for everyone of you who want to live your lives doing things that you love doing and also for those who just need a life.

Time Waste = Life Waste

Everyone of us have daily routine tasks that we feel that we should not be doing, but we still do them for various reasons;

— No other alternative
— We are control Freaks
— Never thought of a way out of it
— We think that only “I” can do it
— We get so used to it that we think the world will crumble if we don’t do it

These tasks usually are:

• Doing internet research
• Drafting reports
• Sending same follow up emails
• Responding to same Enquiries Repetitively
• Doing website maintenance
• Trying to learn new technologies
• Writing artilces
• Posting Articles
• Posting Squidoos
• Microblogging

What Do I do About this Issue Then?

Well, you should start by asking yourself some basic questions:

• What are the main processes in my business?
• What are the core processes of my business that REALLY need my personal attention?
• Which processes/tasks should I focus on?
• Which processes can be done by someone else in house?
• Which processes can be handled by someone else off site?
• Where would I want to spend the time I save, what do I enjoy doing?

Next Step >>> Give it a thought and write down your processes and wait for my next article

PS: Signup to my newsletter so that you stay updated.

Located at the cross-roads of investments in the Indian Ocean region, the Republic of Mauritius has enjoyed unprecedented socio-economic development with an extensive economic growth averaging 5% for the past 20 years. This is the fruit of wary economic governance backed up by sound business and financial infrastructure with a reputation for reliability, efficiency and probity.

The further consolidation of the legal and fiscal framework through the endorsement of a series of modern and user-friendly legislation has contributed to the rise of Mauritius as a prominent offshore financial services centre is adding a new dimension to the economic prosperity of the country. The Government adopted a wide range of incentives to attract investments, and as a result, while the agricultural sector used to dominate, up-market tourism followed by textile production now accounts for the greater part of the Mauritian economy. Hence, the legal and fiscal framework through the endorsement of a series of modern and user-friendly legislation has contributed to the best practice’ principles thereby making Mauritius a very attractive destination for holding and structuring global investments.

The legal framework governing trusts and companies is probably the most modern of all jurisdictions. Mauritius has adhered to the new international requirements, with a view to tracking money laundering and combating terrorism financing and has enacted appropriate legislation in this respect.

In 2003, Mauritius joined the Egmont Group, a membership which enhances the prestige and quality image of the jurisdiction.

Mauritius has got a charisma that further consolidates the fact that it enjoys a solid reputation as a well regulated centre and provides for guaranteed confidentiality for those engaged in lawful business through express provisions and customary laws governing relationships between banks and customers and between professionals and clients.

All this to tell you that you can easily incorporate a company in Mauritius, regardless of your nationality and budget, trade on a global basis and benefit from major Tax benefits. How does it sound to be able to trade on a global basis and pay very little tax or no tax at all? Did you know that Tax Avoidance is fully legal?

Let me know if you want to know more,,…which I am sure you do!!!

Why Do I you need a Virtual Assistant?

Ask yourself some basic questions

Do you find yourself:

• Doing your own bookkeeping (and you’re not a bookkeeper)?
• Maintaining your own web site (and you’re not a web guru)?
• Doing data entry and feel so silly doing it.
• Creating your own marketing materials (and you’re not a copywriter, marketing consultant or graphic designer)?
• Doing your own customer service/scheduling/correspondence, etc. (and you aren’t a virtual assistant)
• Doing anything else than what you do best i.e your core business?
• Too busy trying to make money.
• Starting projects that never go anywhere because you don’t have time to follow through.
• Working over 80 hours a week just to get by.
• Needing help, but you can’t afford to hire anyone.
• spending very little or no time with your family and they don’t recognize you anymore.
• Overwhelmed. Exhausted.

If you answer yes to any of these questions, you should think over it again.

Take Some Action Get Calling.

……. I will be happy to help in any case.

Outsourcing is a term used in business and it is gaining popularity on the net as millions of web site owners discover they do not have all the tools, budget and skills necessary to handle each and every portion of their businesses.

Unlike having to find, interview, and hire an employee - and thus incur the tax liability of a new employee - often savvy business owners turn to outside companies. Outsourcing services take on the tasks underlying a business leaving the owner more free time to pursue the front-end of his or her business.

Wikipedia states:

“Outsourcing” involves transferring or sharing management control and/or decision-making of a business function to an outside supplier, which involves a degree of two-way information exchange, coordination and trust between the outsourcer and its client.”

Outsourcing, therefore, becomes an integrated part of your business. The importance is to determine what should be outsourced, why it should be outsourced, and who will provide your outsourcing services.

Business segments typically outsourced include:

* Information technology
* Human resources
* Facilities
* Real estate management
* Accounting
* Direct Online Marketing and SEO

In addition, many companies also outsource their customer support and rely on call center functions.

Using the Know How of Others - Leverage is the word

The business owner must be able to step back and make an honest evaluation of his or her talents. We are not all created equal. We all have different strengths. One surefire strength for business success that a business owner must cultivate is the ability to delegate responsibility through the use of outsourcing. That’s how a well-run, profit-pulling online business accomplishes its goals.

While we all love to do our initial digging online, pick up a phone and call or send email inquiries or submit forms for call back when choosing an outsourcing service. Make sure your questions are addressed intelligently and at a level of understanding that you feel most comfortable with. Avoid listening to pre-scripted sales pitches where all they want to do is monopolize the phone and beat you down to the point where you really don’t know what they can or cannot do. Take control of the conversation, then turn that conversation into an effective two-way street of open communication. Any company not willing to do that - or vague in their explanations of how - should be moved to the bottom of your list as you locate the best outsourcing company to work with you and your website.

Finding a company that understands and weeds out fad flash-in-the-pan methods, and builds your marketing business on solid, proven methods of web site promotion should be your goal. Find that company and establish a two-way street of information and trust in order to work effectively together.

In Summary

Outsourcing is not just for the “big guy.” Overall outsourcing is viewed by many organizations as a strong business tactic that ultimately is a superior economical approach to developing products and services.

Simply put, don’t try to do everything yourself. You may have many fine strong points, but running your online internet business single-handedly should not be one of them. Learn when and delegating responsibility can actually make your business grow by leaps and bounds. Then find an outsourcing service you can work with - one with a complete understanding of your web site - one that is willing to go extra miles to make your business a success.

If you feel the need to outsource and don’t want to do the leg work of going to find a suitable company, please get in touch with me, I would be more than happy to help.

Thanks

Rajeev

Take Some Action Get Calling.

Communication is the Key.

It is always good to keep a close relationship if you are dealing with the same VA or with your Project Manager in case you are dealing with a team of VAs.

Let’s do some bullet points:

1. Break Down Complex Tasks

It makes it easier to understand and short milestones makes any project easier to handle. It gives the VA more satisfaction to give you some work back and this helps spot mistakes early and complete projects quicker. It is also good to put parallel processes where possible so that tasks can be distributed wherever there is a team of VAs.

2. Give Clear instructions and Samples for Research Work

Attach a sample of work or spreadsheet with appropriate fields created. This clarifies exactly what you want and is easier for you to do than try writing what you want in words.

3 . Comparative explanation so that they know what you don’t want.

It is sometimes very helpful to just say what you don’t want, compare your likes and your dislikes, they will get to know better what you want.

4. Give reasonable deadlines

Putting deadlines to small projects and tasks gives the VA some breathing time and also motivates them to finish on time.

5. Constructive comments and appreciation.

VAs are human beings and hard workers, they usually don’t have much face to face interaction with public, so a small nice word makes them feel like stars. This can make a huge difference to the type of delivery that you get.

6. Virtual Assistants are people like you and me, there may be certain things that they hate doing just like you and me, but do it for the sake of money.

What I am trying to say here again is appreciation of work done highly contributes to building the relationship with your VA and give them a boost to work better. Certain tasks can be really tedious, annoying and repetitive.